The present invention relates to ski bindings and, more specifically, the present invention relates to a universal ski binding that can be adapted for multiple purposes such as alpine skis, snowboards, water skis, wakeboards and the like.
Snowboarding, skiing, and other sliding, boarding, and rolling sports are increasing in popularity as a sport and recreational activity. Snowboarding is nearly as popular as skiing. Unfortunately, the safety aspects of snowboarding equipment lag behind that developed for skiing, particularly with respect to the binding mechanisms provided to hold the snowboard to the feet of the rider. The form of snowboard binding which is currently most broadly used includes two foot plates fastened to the snowboard, each foot plate having a plurality of straps adapted to fasten around a respective boot of the rider. In use, the rider places his or her boot clad feet on the foot plates and tightens the straps around the boots to secure the board to the rider's legs. In order to remove the board the rider must manually and individually unfasten each of the straps to release the snowboard bindings from the rider's boots. Other types of fasteners and bindings are also available, which include plate bindings and step-in bindings.
The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission has released statistics concerning snowboard safety, which indicates that the majority of snowboarding fatalities have resulted from suffocation in deep snow. With the snowboard unreleasably attached to the rider's feet, the length of the snowboard can act as an anchor in the event of a snow slide or avalanche, and once covered in snow the rider may not be able to reach the binding straps in order to remove the board. It may therefore be desirable for a snowboard binding to enable the rider's legs to be released from attachment to the board in the event of abnormal forces being applied, such as may occur in the case of a severe fall or an avalanche.
Ski bindings are traditionally designed to release the ski from the ski boot if abnormal forces are applied between the ski boot and ski binding, so that those forces are not transmitted to the skier's leg where they may cause injury. It would be advantageous, therefore, for snowboard bindings to have a similar safety feature, such that the likelihood of injury is decreased in the event of a severe fall, particularly one in which the body or legs of the snowboarder twist relative to the board. In the case of a snowboard binding release, preferably both feet should be released from the board during the fall, even if only one binding initially senses abnormal forces, since with only one leg secured to the snowboard the potential for injury to that leg is greatly increased.
Another difficulty associated with snowboard bindings occurs where the rider wishes to use a conventional ski lift or tow to return to the top of a mountain slope. In order to negotiate queues of people and the like the rider must generally free one foot from the board to maneuver into position to mount the ski lift. After alighting from the ski lift the free boot must then be re-fastened to the snowboard. The constant cycle of unfastening and re-fastening the conventional binding straps is both physically exhausting and time consuming, and it would therefore be desirable for an improved snowboard binding to enable easier fixing and release of at least one boot from the board when desired.
Not only is there a great safety concern with respect to the ski bindings used with snowboards, but often most skiers tend to ski not only with a snowboard but also with alpine skis. It becomes very expensive to maintain a set of skis with bindings that are distinct from one another that do not allow any universal interchange. For example, an individual may want to ski in the morning using alpine skis but later ski in the afternoon on a snowboard. In order to do so, the individual would have to change the bindings and ski boots being worn in order to use the alpine skis or the snowboard. Accordingly, it would be a great benefit to provide a universal binding that would be as efficient and applicable for alpine skis as it is for snowboards. Further, this universal binding should also be adaptable to other ski activities, including, but not limited to water skiing and other snow ski activities.